Naruto and the Nutcracker
by LoZfanchick
Summary: Naruto and The Nutcracker Xover. Naruto gets a nutcracker from Kiba, at night he sees his nutcracker fighting a snake king. Then he shrinks and is dragged to a messed up world. humor and romance, SASUNARUSASU. late X-mas story. Sasu nutcracker. T for safe
1. Introduction

Ok so here is my (late) Christmas story. Trust me it's worth the wait, lol.

I am very proud of this story b/c i don't think I took the chracters OOC at all and i just had fun with it. :D

Also, while writing this, i've descovered a new pairing -that i love- and i will tell you more later on in the story, but for now _**ENJOY!!!!!**_

i own this idea that's it

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**NatN**

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"Merry Christmas foxy!" Kiba boomed as he handed Naruto a tall rectangular box wrapped in a red and gold paper.

"Thanks dog breath!" Naruto yelled as he took the gift.

Naruto and Kiba were hanging out at Naruto's house, waiting for Kiba's parents to come and pick him up –they got called away for a veterinarian emergency, and his sister kicked him out of the house so she could get the Christmas Eve dinner done. So, Naruto asked his adopted dad –Iruka- if Kiba could spend the afternoon of the 24th at their house. Iruka, of course, said yes, so the teens spent most of the day together.

"What is it?" Naruto asked excitedly as he started unwrapping.

"You have to unwrap it to find out." Iruka pointed out as he watched the two teens.

Naruto took off all the wrapping and his smile instantly fell, replaced with a confused stare.

"It's a nutcracker." Kiba said, the edge of his lips twitching. "Get it…nut cracker!" He explained as he began to laugh. Naruto lost his confused face, and replaced it with an irritated one. "Because you're gay ...nutcracker!" Kiba let out another boisterous laugh, as he clutched his stomach.

"You ass!" Naruto gritted out, raising the nutcracker ready to throw it at Kiba. Iruka grabbed the gift out of Naruto's hand and placed it on the coffee table.

"I think it's a lovely gift…even though the reasoning is wrong."

Naruto groaned and tackled Kiba, shortly after the two boys started wrestling. They didn't stop till Kiba's mom came in and dragged him out.

Later, after Iruka and Naruto had their Christmas dinner, Naruto went outside to go get some more firewood for their fireplace.

"Stupid Kiba and his dumb gifts!" Naruto muttered under his breath as he walked. "He's been spending too much time with Sai; the pervert's rubbing off on him."

As Naruto walked towards the back of his house to get the wood, he heard a familiar scream. Wasting no time, Naruto ran towards the source.

"Konohamaru! What's going on?!" Naruto asked frantically his eyes doubling in size.

Konohamaru –Naruto's next door neighbor- was pressed against the wall to his house, surrounded by snakes.

"Naruto! Help me!" The boy pleaded as he tried to flatten himself closer towards the brick wall.

Naruto looked over the snakes and noticed they were all looking at Konohamaru. Quickly and precisely, Naruto picked a path that looked like it didn't have a lot of and ran to Konohamaru -killing the snakes in his way by squishing their heads. Once near the boy, he threw him on his back and ran towards Konohamaru's front door. Once on the door step, Naruto turned around to check the snakes and saw all of them slithering away.

"Thank you Naruto!" Konohamaru cheered as he developed Naruto in a powerful hug.

"You sure you're ok?" Naruto asked as he pried himself out of the boys grip.

"Yup!" Konohamaru gave him a big toothy grin and a thumbs up.

After Konohamaru's parents thanked him several times, Naruto went back to his house and decided against getting more fire wood. Inside, he found Iruka sitting on the couch, holding Naruto's nutcracker in his hands.

The room was a simple and cozy room: the couch was against one wall with a coffee table in front of it, and their Christmas tree was in the corner, a good amount away from the wood burning fire place. On the wall next to the entrance way, was a lazy boy chair with an end table and lamp next to it.

Naruto sat on the lazy boy and gave out a tired sigh. He glanced over to Iruka and smiled, cuddling deeper into the chair.

"This is a very detailed nutcracker." Iruka complimented not even noticing the lack of fire wood.

Naruto scoffed and pouted at his gift.

"I can't believe that mutt." He grumbled. Iruka handed him the nutcracker, ruffled his hair, and went off to bed. Naruto looked over the nutcracker and shook his head back and forth. "I guess it is pretty cool." Naruto admitted stubbornly.

The nutcracker was made of all wood, but it wasn't blocky like the traditional nutcrackers. In fact, it almost looked like a male Barbie doll, with the exception of being made of all wood and able to crack nuts. It had raven hair, swished up in the back -framing the dolls face. The face was set in one of disinterest, bordering on irritated. The outfit carved into the nutcracker was a dark blue tunic with a white undershirt, a dark blue belt with a gold belt buckle, and a dull gold sword sheath with a little sword in it, and the pants were black with a pair of black boots to finish the outfit.

Naruto grabbed the nut cracking lever and clicked it a few times, watching the raven haired nutcrackers mouth open and close. _Not a very big mouth. _Naruto observed. _It could crack a peanut, maybe but not much else. _Naruto sighed then yawned. He placed the nutcracker back on the table, put out the fire. He then shut off the Christmas tree lights and locked up the house, then went up to bed.

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**NatN**

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Is the spacing in off b/c to me it seems off....hmmm.

ANYway! I hope you all liked it and the next chapter should be up soon. It all depends on how fast my roomie can edit it for you guys :)


	2. Ownership

**Chapter two** duh duh duuuuuuuuh XD

i own this idea that's it

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NatN

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Some time later, he woke up. "Uhh…thirsty." Naruto whined, as he threw his tired body out of bed. He slowly trudged down the stairs to get a glass of water. He blinked opened his tired eyes and yawned again.

"What's that noise?" He wondered out loud. There was a faint noise of hissing and clashing. "The furnace?" He wondered aloud again.

Naruto followed the noise and it led towards his family room. Naruto glanced inside and couldn't stop the scream from escaping his throat. The whole floor was covered with snakes, the same type that surrounded Konohamaru earlier.

"What the hell?!" Naruto yelled as he backed up into the hallway wall.

His blue eyes darted around everywhere, trying in vain to take everything in. Snakes littered his carpet floor and table. Naruto almost started hyperventilating as he fell onto the floor.

On his table stood his nutcracker, holding his little sword and fighting the snakes that pounced at him.

Naruto grabbed his head and shook it, blinking his eyes and rubbing them over and over. _Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!_ Naruto chanted as he stopped rubbing his eyes and let them refocus.

The scene only changed a little bit. His nutcracker was now on the floor fighting snakes instead of on the table.

"Help!" Naruto yelled as he tried to stand, but his body wouldn't listen. The shock had frozen him.

Meanwhile, as Naruto was dealing with his fear and shock, a man with sickle pale skin and beady yellow eyes glared at him.

"Followers!" The man hissed, not raising his voice one bit. As all the snakes looked towards him, the nutcracker used this and killed some more, slashing at their necks. The pale man –that was maybe a head taller than the nutcracker- glared at the nutcracker but turned his eyes back onto the scared blonde.

"That man killed your fellow kind," He pointed a long finger at Naruto. "Attack him, get your revenge!"

All the snakes hissed and started slithering towards Naruto, who promptly let out another scream, beginning to panic.

"Orochimaru!" The pale man glanced at the nutcracker that was glaring at him. "This is between you and me", He explained in an icy tone.

The man's yellow eyes glared at the opposing onyx ones and smirked.

"I am King." The nutcracker's glare worsened. "I do not take orders, I give them."

A loud crash broke the glaring match. Both turned towards the source of the crash and saw pieces of a vase all over the floor, along with a bunch of snake corpses.

Naruto reached for the coasters and started chucking them at the snake army. Orochimaru narrowed his eyes at Naruto then raised his yellow snake-like staff and pointed it at him.

"You who thinks he's so high and mighty, shrink! And face us with our size!" Orochimaru yelled as a black substance shot out of the staff.

"No!" Sasuke yelled, as he watched the black substance land on the unsuspecting blonde's head. "Shit." He gritted out as he ran towards Naruto, his sword ready and slashing at snakes in his way.

"What the-?!" Naruto exclaimed as he noticed himself shrinking.

Panicking, Naruto tried to grab something to stop him from shrinking. He reached for the lamp but that only resulted in the lamp tumbling down to the floor and shattering. Naruto screamed as shards flew in his direction, but he was saved when something hard collided with him –effectively shielding him from the shards of glass.

"What?" Naruto cried out in alarm, but he was jolted out of his thoughts as he was pulled up from the floor and pulled towards a direction he didn't know.

Red, blue, cream, white, and yellow blew by him as he was pulled along an unknown path. He heard buzzing that must have been voices or maybe slithering, but couldn't concentrate on them; he only concentrated on not tripping.

Suddenly he caught a glimpse of black, then a blinding flash of white. He closed his eyes and lost his footing. He tripped, fell to the ground, and landed in snow.

"What?" Naruto asked bewildered. He sat up, scanned the area and found himself in a cave covered in snow. "What? Where am I?"

A grunt caught his attention as he whipped his head towards to noise. His eyes focused in on the noisemaker and realized it was his nutcracker. Like a rock landing on his head, everything caught up to him, the snakes, the fight, the shrinking.

"What the hell happened to me?!" Naruto yelled. He stood on shaky legs and pointed a finger at the raven nutcracker's face. "What are you?! And-and snakes, and…my house?! My house! My house is covered in snakes! Iruka!" Naruto screamed as he thought of his dad getting attacked by snakes. Naruto whipped his head back towards the nutcracker who silently watched the blonde ramble and panic. "Take me back! I have to go to Iruka! He's in danger!"

"He's fine." The nutcracker replied monotonously.

"No he's not!" Naruto furiously yelled in his face. "He's my only family and he's alone in a house full of psychotic reptiles!"

"Dobe!" The nutcracker snapped as he hit the blonde over the head with his wooden hand. "He's fine, the snakes followed us."

Naruto sighed relieved, then the words sunk in and he became rigid again.

""Us"?! What do you mean, us?!"

"Orochimaru is after me and since I helped you, he's now after you, too." The raven explained.

Naruto opened his mouth to chew the nutcracker out but sighed in defeat. _I can't say he shouldn't have saved me because then I'd be dead._ Naruto sighed again and slumped into the snow.

"Hey," Naruto called to the nutcracker. "How come the snow's not cold? Isn't it supposed to be?"

"Of course snow is supposed to be cold, dobe." The nutcracker scoffed.

Naruto bristled at the insult.

"Teme! I live in sunny California, where it doesn't snow!"Naruto pointed to his bare chest with his thumb, and then threw his arms off to the side. "So why isn't it cold?!" He demanded.

Again the raven scoffed and started to walk away. "It's too complicated for a dobe like you to understand."

"You Teme! Get back here!" Naruto ran to catch up the nutcracker and glared at him once he did. "You know nutcracker, I have a name and since I own you, you should remember it! It's Naruto Uzumaki."

The nutcracker glared at the now smiling blonde.

"I saved your ass, dobe, which means I own you. So, you may call me Master Sasuke Uchiha." Sasuke smirked as the blonde flinched then glared at him.

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NatN

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**Sasuke Uchiha is owned by no one**.

Also, yes, Naruto is from California. I picked this b/c....well....I like Calfornia. It's a cool state and my Uncle works there so *shrug*.


	3. levers are fun

Sorry it took so long to update ^^;

just a heads up **_I _**edited this chapter so if you see something wrong **PLEASE COMMENT ON IT!!**I'm trying to improve so criticism on my GRAMMAR is welcome, not my story telling skills (lol)

Anywho, i hope you guys like it.

i own this idea that's it

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NatN

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"Kabuto!" Orochimaru barked as he entered his palace.

The palace was a dark gray color that even the sky reflected. It had snakes and statues everywhere, all posed in different poses; looking as though they had once been real and turned to stone. The grand hall –which held Orochimaru's thrown- was decorated with more statues and bright lights, in order to keep the dreary castle heated. Two statues, which were closest to the thrown, stood out the most. One statue was of a busty woman with a furious expression on her face; the other, was of a man with long hair, his head was turned towards the woman his mouth open in what may be a yell.

"Kabuto." Orochimaru called, again. He sat himself on his thrown, his staff leaning on the arm rest of his chair.

Kabuto -a tall man with silver hair and glasses- came into the room and bowed while straightening his glasses.

"Yes, your highness?" Kabuto greeted.

Orochimaru glared at nothing and heaved a sigh. "Sasuke has escaped me again, and he took someone with him." Orochimaru spit out.

"I have some rather terrible news then, your highness." Kabuto started, looking at the ground. "The Sugar Plum Princess has escaped; she tricked a snake guard then fought her way out."

Orochimaru grabbed his staff and shot the snake guard that slithered into the room.

"That wench!" He cursed as he stood up and left the room, Kabuto following him. "If she finds Sasuke all my hard work will be for nothing!"

He and Kabuto walked into a dark room and once the door was closed Orochimaru snapped his fingers and candles lit. The room was barely lit (even with the candles) and housed many shelves. The only thing resembling a decoration was a single statue. The statue was of a tall man with long hair tied into a pony tail. He had a fist raised and a murdering intent in his hard eyes, a scowl was on his lips and two slash marks on each side of his nose, was wrinkled a bit.

Kabuto grabbed some powders and oils from the shelves and brought them to a giant cauldron in the corner of the room. Orochimaru grabbed the appropriate bottles and powder and sprinkled the ingredients into the cauldron. The cauldron started to glow and Orochimaru held his staff over the cauldron and let a single strand of raven hair fall into the pot.

"Show me where Sasuke is!" Orochimaru demanded.

The cauldron lit up with an image of Sasuke arguing with Naruto.

"They're in the forest." Kabuto stated.

Orochimaru grinned as he turned away. "Send the sound four after them. Tell them to bring Sasuke back to me, alive."

"But sire, they could be anywhere in the woods." Kabuto pointed out.

"If they cannot find them in the forest, tell them to go to the lake, where the entrance to Sakura's haven meets our land. He cannot get to that Sugary bitch." Orochimaru then turned and left.

Kabuto glanced one last time at the cauldron, the picture of Sasuke and Naruto arguing remained. Now, however, the blonde had a bump on his head and they were glaring intensely at each other.

"Teme, you could've been more compassionate." Naruto gritted out as he pulled on Sasuke's hair.

Sasuke, in retaliation, tugged on the blonde hair trapped in his wooden fingers and grunted.

"What'd you want a hug?" Sasuke teased, then harshly pulled the blonde hair again, causing Naruto to yelp and let go of his hair. Sasuke threw the blonde away and scoffed. "Go find a girl if you want comfort."

"You really are a teme." Naruto whined as he held his head.

Sasuke scoffed again and turned away from the blonde.

"Don't turn your back to me!" Naruto yelled, only to get a 'dobe' in return.

Naruto growled then remembered something and grinned like a Cheshire cat.

"Take this teme!" Naruto yelled.

"hn." Sasuke grunted, not bothering to turn around. _Idiot, I'm made of wood, you'll just injure your own hand._

Sasuke's eyebrows flew off his face and his eyes increased tenfold as his mouth flew open and close, obnoxiously.

Naruto burst out laughing as Sasuke flailed his arms trying to reach the blonde. Naruto only continued to pull on the lever on Sasuke's back.

"Y…ou…Do….be!...I…Kill..….ou!" Sasuke tried to threaten as he tried to turn and destroy the blonde dobe, but couldn't.

"What's that teme? I can't understand you. Say it again." Naruto laughed as he continued to control Sasuke's mouth. Sasuke glared death at him (or tried to).

"Sasuke?" A voice questioned loudly. Both boys stopped moving and turned to look at the newcomer. A girl, with long blonde hair tied into a pony tail, walked out of some nearby bushes. Her mouth was open and a look of astonishment was on her face.

Naruto let go of Sasuke's handle and took a few steps away from him. Sasuke heaved a heavy sigh and the blonde haired girls face blew into a huge smile as she ran towards the raven.

"Sasuke!" She yelled as she pounced on him. "I can't believe it, it's you! You're back!" She continued to squeal as she hung around his neck.

"Ino stop being so noisy."

Naruto looked over towards the bushes and out came two men. One with his hair tied in a ponytail on top of his head, a lazy look on his face; and another that was chubby, had swirls on his cheek, and kept eating some food that he kept pulling out of his pocket.

"Sasuke," The chubby man spoke. "Good to see you."

"Where you the one making all that racket?" The pony tailed man asked.

"Hn." Sasuke grunted out as he pried Ino off him.

"We should take you to our hide out." Ino stated excitedly.

"Aren't we supposed to be on watch duty?" The chubby man asked as he stuffed his mouth with another handful of food.

"We are on watch! We found Sasuke and…" Ino looked over towards Naruto and everyone else followed her gaze. "Who are you?" She asked her hand on her hips and her one eyebrow raised.

"Hey, I'm Naruto." Naruto introduced himself with a smile. Ino smiled back and began to introduce the group.

"I'm Ino, and the lazy looking guy is Shikamaru, and the other one is Chouji."

Both boys raised their hands as a greeting. Ino than began to talk to Naruto and ask where he was from and such. Shikamaru raised an eyebrow at Sasuke, who shrugged.

"No snow!" Ino yelled as she took a few steps back. "Like at all?!" Naruto shook his head 'no', smiling.

"Shikamaru, Chouji!" She called, "Naruto here is from a land where it never snows! Isn't that amazing?"

"How's that amazing?" Chouji inquired, confused. "Snow is great."

"No it's not!" Ino snapped back. "It's heavy and cold."

Before Chouji could defend the snow, Shikamaru cut in.

"The hideout's this way."

Ino ran to catch up to Shikamaru, because she wanted to be the one to lead them in. Chouji followed behind them and Naruto and Sasuke fell into step next to each other, in the back of the group.

"Are they your friends?" Naruto asked his hands behind his head.

"Hn." Sasuke shrugged, and side glanced at Naruto and the blonde smiled.

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OK. So, how many of you thought I'd make Naruto the Sugar Plum Princess???? haha I was tempted but I decided against it, and I think it's for the better :)

I really really enjoyed writing the fight with Naruto pulling Sasuke's lever XD I find that to be a funny image in my head. :)

Alrighty, with the editing, let me make it clear that I edited this with what I learned in Business English (which grammar rules are sometimes different from regular rules) therefore, again I would **_appreciate any feedback you guys have on my EDITING!_**

I really want to get better and the better I get, the easier these are for you guys to read :D

Anyway hope you liked it! :)

Oh, and if you didn't know the two statues in the main hall were Jiriaya and Tsunade and the one in the dark room is Itachi.


	4. bonding

again I now have an account in adultfanfic (in my profile is the link) but nothings on it and i have no idea how to work that site but whatever :)

caoifuaofbcajsdfhoa cjnpaifuwabufowb

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Once they all made it to the hideout, a huge party was held for Sasuke's return. Ino introduced Naruto to everyone, and he got along with pretty much all of them.

"This is so cool!" Naruto yelled again as he leaned over a railing.

Naruto looked down at the forest floor and laughed. The hideout was basically a bunch of tree houses connected through rope bridges or zip lines. The houses were small, each holding only one purpose -some kitchen houses others sleeping houses and so on. They had special covers to disguise the houses when danger was spotted. All of this fascinated Naruto.

"You wouldn't be saying that if you lived here as long as we have." Neji –one of the guys Naruto was introduced to- said.

"B-but i-it is p-pretty…cool." Hinata –another person Naruto met and Neji's cousin- agreed while blushing.

Naruto looked over to Sasuke, who was glaring at the tree houses.

"How can you just stand there broading? This place is awesome!" Naruto exclaimed as he ran to go look around some more.

"Ah, his youthfulness is such a great sight!" Lee announced as he walked past the group on his hands.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow but Neji just shook his head.

"Don't ask." Ten-Ten -Neji's girlfriend- explained while giggling.

Sasuke nodded his head and soon Naruto rejoined the group with Ino and Shikamaru in tow.

"Teme, stop looking so depressed! It's annoying."

"You're annoying."

"What was that?"

Both then began to glare at each other. Naruto broke the glare war with a scoff.

"You piss me off! You walk around acting like you're better than everyone and then, at the same time, act like you have the most depressing life ever! You're pissy all the time and it's really pissing me off!" Naruto yelled.

"N-Naruto." Hinata reached her hand out, but the blonde ushered it away.

"No!" Naruto turned back to Sasuke. "You really are a teme! Asshole!"

Naruto then turned and stomped away. Ino looked at Sasuke, a worried expression painted on her face. Then, with a huff, she went after Naruto, an aggravated expression replacing her worried one. Everyone watched her go in silence then looked over to Sasuke, who was staring ahead with an uninterested look in his eyes.

"He doesn't know." Ten-ten tried but silenced herself as Sasuke walked briskly away from the group. Ten-ten looked worriedly after him and took a step to follow him, but Neji raised his arm and shook his head.

Meanwhile, Ino finally caught up to Naruto and glared at him. She sat herself down next to him and continued to glare at him.

"You're the bastard." She accused.

Naruto sputtered and glared defiantly back at her.

"M-me? How? He was the one ridiculing your guys' houses with his eyes and belittling this whole place!" Naruto threw his arms up, but Ino continued to glare at him.

"You know nothing! Don't judge Sasuke without knowing him." Naruto scoffed and turned away from her. She bristled then punched him. "Pay attention! Sasuke has a right to be depressed! His family was killed in front of him!"

A few moments of silence passed and Naruto didn't move.

"What?" He finally breathed, looking at Ino confused.

Ino sighed. "The Uchiha's ruled this whole place and all four seasons would pass like normal. Then the Queen and King died. Itachi," She glanced at Naruto who gave her a puzzled stare. "That's Sasuke's older brother, Itachi took the throne. Orochimaru was their advisor but Itachi didn't trust him, so he fired him. But, Orochimaru came back, he said he wanted Sasuke."

"What?" Naruto cut in, outraged. Ino shushed him and continued.

"Orochimaru had gotten control of magic and charmed a bunch of snakes and molded them into his army. He started killing everyone by turning them to stone. He attacked the palace. Itachi defended Sasuke so that he could get away. Itachi died. But Sasuke couldn't just leave and abandon his kingdom so he came back. He stole some magic from Orochimaru and tried to fight him, but he was too weak. Orochimaru was only able to turn him into a nutcracker, due to the magic Sasuke had stolen from him." Ino sighed as she looked down.

"Sasuke was forced to use some more of the magic he had stolen, and fled. Meanwhile, Orochimaru took complete control. Now all the seasons are stuck in certain parts of our land. Here it's fall." She waved her hands towards all the different color leaves. "You came from the winter part, springs near the water and summer is sort of everywhere. It's always around 80 degrees, everywhere, even in the winter area." She sighed again and glanced at Naruto.

Naruto was looking down and biting his bottom lip, taking everything Ino told him in. After a few moments of silence, he turned to Ino and smiled.

"Thanks." He said then got up and left.

It was late at night now, everyone was either in bed or inside around a fire. Naruto zip lined to what looked to be an empty tree house. Naruto peaked inside and saw Sasuke lying down on the wood floor. Naruto walked inside quietly and laid down next to him.

Neither said anything. Sasuke glared at the ceiling and glanced over to Naruto when he felt the blonde's eyes on him.

"What?" He snapped.

"How'd you get over here? Nutcrackers can't zip line."

"There's a bridge dumbass."

"oh…um…" Naruto started, but couldn't get the words out. He twisted his mouth and squinted his eyes.

Sasuke watched the struggling blonde then smirked. "Hn. Apology accepted."

Naruto blinked then turned and glared at the raven.

"I wasn't apologizing!"

"Sure." Sasuke replied still smirking.

"Teme." Naruto growled but smiled afterwards. They fell into a comfortable silence and stared at the wooden ceiling.

"I know what it feels like." Naruto blurted out. Sasuke cocked an eyebrow at him. "To be alone," Sasuke lowered his eyebrow and closed his eyes, letting out an exasperated sigh. "And to feel guilty."

Sasuke's eyes shot open at that statement.

"I don't feel guilty." He stated, trying to keep his tone even.

"Sure." Naruto mimicked Sasuke's earlier tone. This only proved to piss the raven off more as he sat up and glared an Uchiha death glare at the blonde.

"I. Don't." He gritted out.

Naruto only stared back at him and sat up as well, not breaking the eye contact.

"Yeah you do, Orochimaru wanted you. Because of that you blame yourself for Ita-"

Sasuke tackled Naruto and used his wooden arm to pin Naruto's neck to the floor.

"I do not feel guilty!" He seethed.

"I…did to!" Naruto gasped out. Sasuke's glare lessened, due to his confusion. He loosened his grip and, slowly, allowed the blonde to sit up again.

Naruto wrung his neck and coughed a bit, trying to get air back into his system. Once he could breathe normally again, he glared at Sasuke.

"I was 10 and I wanted to go to the movies with my friends. My parents wanted to come but I told them no. My mom said her and my dad would just watch a different movie, but I still said no. So, I went alone. I came home and no more parents." Naruto explained.

"Some assholes broke into my house, stole everything, and killed both of them." Naruto further explained. "And I felt like it was my fault because I wouldn't let them come." The blonde took a deep breath then locked eyes with Sasuke. "But it wasn't and it's not your fault your brother died."

Sasuke bristled and after an intense match of glaring, Sasuke sighed and felt all his energy seep out of him.

"Everyone used to live in homes, not tree houses. I've allowed this to happen. It's my fault."

Sasuke fisted his hand and squeezed it painfully. All the memories of his people being turned to stone and him not being able to do anything but watch and run away because he was too weak, replayed in his head. Sasuke's hardened glare that he had on his ever-tightening fist was broken when two tan hands grabbed his fist.

"No it's not. They left because of Orochimaru, it's his fault. He's a sick, evil, psychopath that has some serious problems." Naruto stated as he waved his hands around in the air.

"You don't kno-"

"No! Orochimaru wanted you because he's messed up. You didn't provoke it, he's just a psycho! And you are helping everyone! You're here and I saw you fighting him! You are not to blame, got it?" Naruto held tighter onto Sasuke hand and –with his eyes- dared Sasuke to argue.

Sasuke sighed then smiled a tiny bit, out of relief or amusement Naruto wasn't sure; but he did see it and smiled as well.

"Well, teme I'm exhausted! So…night." Naruto let go of his hand and turned on his side.

"Night." Sasuke agreed, lying down on his back again.

"No sign of him in this part of the woods." A man with four arms yelled. A fat man sighed disappointed.

"Wait!" A man with two faces said. Suddenly, the sound of a flute made its way towards the group.

"She found something!" The fat man cheered, running towards the flute.

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dfahofhaofhaofhoafhoah hdaoipfhanfa

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they bonded :)


	5. Sugar Plum Princess

I figured you guys deserved this for Christmas! :D

_**MERRY CHRISTMAS! **_

i own this idea thats it_**  
**_

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"Wake up my youthful companions!" Lee cheered.

Naruto and Sasuke groaned, but Lee only smiled and continued to try to get the two to wake up. Once both boys were awake, they went with Lee to go get some breakfast.

"These are delicious Hinata!" Naruto cheered as he dove into the pile of pancakes on his plate. Sasuke looked over at Naruto and smirked at the sight of the blonde's face buried in pancakes.

"Sasuke I've got great news!" Ino cheered as she moved some random girls away from Sasuke so she could sit next to him.

"What?" He drawled out, looking away from Naruto and back at her.

"Sakura escaped Orochimaru!" Ino cheered with a smile covering her face.

"What?" The whole table shouted. Naruto stopped eating and looked at Ino with a raised eyebrow.

"How?" Lee asked with his hands clasped and a sparkle in his eyes.

"I just heard, she escaped from Orochimaru and is back at her place." Ino informed the table then she turned to Sasuke with another huge smile. "Sasuke, she can turn you back into a human!"

The whole table was silent before it blew up in cheers and smiles. Naruto ducked and glanced at everyone confused. He finally found Sasuke with his eyes and saw that the raven haired nutcracker was smiling the same smile he showed Naruto last night.

Naruto's mouth went into a thin line and he turned to Hinata.

"Who's Sakura?" He asked her honestly. Hinata blinked at him and opened her mouth to answer but Ten-Ten interrupted her.

"Sakura's the Sugar Plum Princess, she-" Lee cut her off as he jumped on the table.

"She's the most beautiful female in the whole world! Her beauty outshines even the sun!"

"She got her title because she trained under Tsunade, the last Sugar Plum Princess." Ino further explained, but Naruto still looked lost.

"She's magic. A kiss from her will turn Sasuke back to normal." Shikamaru yawned; he then folded his arms and laid his head back down on the table.

Naruto's gaze went over to Sasuke who nodded his head. Naruto turned back to his pile of pancakes and everyone else began talking about Sakura and Sasuke. _Sugar Plum Princess? What the hell kind of title is that? And why the hell does the teme have to kiss her?_ Naruto angrily stabbed his pancakes due to his confusion.

"Ah! N-Naruto I-I have a gi…something for y-you." Hinata stuttered out as she reached under the table and pulled out a folded up, white shirt.

Naruto took it and quickly pulled it over his head; he stood up and checked himself over with a grin.

"Y-you're o-only wearing p-pants so I th-thought…" She trailed off as she poked her two pointer fingers together.

Naruto smiled at her and her face lit up to a cherry red.

"Thanks Hinata! This is great!" He complimented.

The raven haired girls face turned an even brighter shade of red as she quickly looked away from the smiling blonde. Naruto smiled at her then sat back down and decided to see what Sasuke was doing.

"And that should lead you to her entrance." Neji finished as he rolled up a map and slide it over towards Sasuke.

The nutcracker nodded and sighed as Ino squealed.

"This is so amazing! Sasuke you'll be human again in no time!" She cheered as she hung around his neck. "I hate that you'll be forced to kiss billboard but at least it'll return you to normal." She smiled up at him, he only grunted in response.

"You should go so you can travel in the light." Ten-Ten advised as she glanced at the sky.

Sasuke nodded and stood then left the house. Naruto stood and followed Sasuke, Ino, and Neji out, waving goodbye to everyone else at the table.

"Bye! Keep your eyes open for any danger!" Ino yelled at the two retreating bodies, as they made their way deeper into the woods.

"These are their footprints." A girl with long scarlet hair stated, using her flute to point at the imprints in the snow.

"Well whoop-de-do, Tayuya!" The man with four arms said mockingly. "Now we know that they went in that direction. Oh, but wait they probably didn't stay on a straight path!" He yelled in her face and she hit him with her flute to remove him from her personal space.

The fat man, Jirabo, came over and forcefully separated the two.

"Kidomaru, Tayuya, stop bitching!" Ukon –the two headed man- snapped. He then turned his head and followed the footsteps.

"These don't help much." Jirabo stated as he plopped his two teammates on the snow.

"You're right." Ukon agreed.

Kidomaru stood up and folded two of his arms and used the other two to point off towards the woods.

"I say we head toward the shore. They'll head over there anyway." Everyone nodded and then they all took off towards the shoreline.

* * *

**(1)

* * *

**

"I'm just asking why a kiss?" Naruto questioned the impassive nutcracker again. "I mean if it's magic shouldn't it be through a…a potion or something?" He questioned again, his arms folded behind his head which was tilted towards the ground.

"Hn." Sasuke grunted out as he continued to ignore the dobe.

"Is that all you can say?" Naruto spat, glaring at the raven's head.

"Hn." Sasuke grunted again, smirking when he saw how the blonde's glare worsened.

"Teme." Naruto grumbled.

"Dobe." Sasuke replied still smirking.

"Ass!"

"Dead last."

"Asshole!" Naruto yelled, running ahead of the nutcracker and blocking his path.

Sasuke glared at him and waited till Naruto got bored of their glaring match, so they could keep moving. After some time had past, Sasuke's eyebrow twitched at the blonde's stubbornness.

"Move dobe." He demanded as he pushed the blonde out of the way.

"Hey!" Naruto yelped as he was pushed into a tree trunk. "Teme!" He yelled as he ran after the disappearing nutcracker.

Naruto oomphed as he ran into Sasuke's back and fell onto the grass.

"Teme!" Naruto shot at the raven. Sasuke just glanced over his shoulder.

"We're here dobe." Sasuke explained, turning back to look at the lake.

Naruto scanned the area and walked towards the shore line. A few trees littered the shore line and a couple of big boulders, the beach was tiny –almost nonexistent- the grass just led into the water.

"So where's her…house?" Naruto asked looking back at Sasuke.

Sasuke raised his wooden finger and pointed towards the lake.

"She lives on the other side of the lake." The nutcracker's eyebrows nit together as he tried to think of how to cross it.

Naruto looked over the lake and scratched his chin also trying to think of a plan. He glanced at Sasuke and chuckled at how blocky he looked when he was thinking, all the wood scrunching together. Then an idea hit the blonde. He grinned a shit eating grin and went over to Sasuke.

"I thought of a plan." Naruto informed him. Sasuke looked at him and relaxed but after seeing Naruto's smile his face changed to an uneasy expression. "Trust me it's full proof!" Naruto boasted as he got closer towards the nutcracker.

"What is it?" Sasuke asked cautiously, his body wanting to take a step back as the blonde stalked towards him but his pride refusing to move.

"Well," Naruto's grin grew as he explained. "You're made of wood, and wood floats. So-"

"No way in hell!" Sasuke yelled, taking a couple steps back.

"Come on!" Naruto encouraged following the raven as he kept walking away from him. "You just lay on your back and I'll ride you….like a boat." The blonde smiled devilishly. "I mean, what else is a wooden nutcracker good for? It's perfect for you!" Naruto teased, his smile increasing.

Sasuke glared harder at him for the insult; then his brain fully analyzed what Naruto said and he stopped backing up and smirked. Naruto saw this and stopped as well, his cocky attitude decreasing a bit as Sasuke continued to smirk at him.

"Hmm, are you sure you don't just want to ride me dobe?" Naruto raised an eyebrow at him then after a few seconds his face lit up as he realized that he indeed said he would ride Sasuke.

"N-not like that pervert!" Naruto yelled, balling his fists.

"Really?" Sasuke's smirk grew and he started walking towards Naruto, who started taking steps backwards. "You said you wanted me on my back with you riding me."

"I meant like a boat!" Naruto yelled again, his face darkening.

"Sure." Sasuke replied as he kept walking towards the flustered blonde. "Is that what they call it in California?"

"No!" Naruto yelled but instantly regretted it. "No! Arrgh, stop misinterpreting my plan!"

Sasuke's smirk grew as he kept stalking the blonde.

"I'm not the one saying I want to ride you."

"I didn't say that!" Naruto yelled again as he hit a boulder. _Great!_ Naruto thought as he glanced at the boulder. Sasuke stopped and smirked at the blushing, cornered, blonde.

"Yes, you did do-."

"Sasuke!" A voice yelled in excitement, breaking up the two boys teasing game.

Both boys looked around, confused, until both of their eyes landed on a girl with shoulder length pink hair. She was being carried over the lake by birds in a canopy of vines. She landed on the shore line and ran to Sasuke.

"Sasuke!" She cheered as her eyes teared up a bit. She hugged him around his torso and laughed a bit as she let go to examine him. "Oh, Sasuke! You're ok!" She laughed as she continued to smile at him.

"Hn." Sasuke grunted out, as he gently pried her off him. "Hello Sakura." Sasuke glanced at Naruto, who broke out of his stupor and walked over to them.

"Hello Sakura, I'm Naruto." He introduced himself extending his hand. Sakura took it and smiled at him.

"Hi, I'm Sakura the Sugar Plum Princess." _The title suits her, especially with her hair._ Naruto thought as he looked her over. She had on a pink skirt with purple shorts underneath and a pink V shaped midriff with a lily in the middle of the V.

Sakura glared at him, since she noticed him checking her out.

"Hey, Naruto!" She snapped holding up a fist. "Just because I'm called the Sugar Plum Princess, doesn't mean I'm a weakling. I can kick your ass, so don't even think about touching me!" She warned.

Naruto held up his arms in defeat and let out a nervous chuckle as he took a few steps away from her.

"No worries." He assured her. "I'm on the dude train." Sakura calmed down after hearing this and lowered her fist. "Though, I must say if I was straight I'd definitely go after you." He winked at her and she smiled and blushed a bit at the compliment.

"Aw, aren't you the charmer? Thank you." She said as she cupped her left cheek.

"Sakura." Sasuke called, getting the blonde and pinkette's attention. Sasuke looked at Sakura and let out a long sigh. "You know what I'm here for."

At hearing this Sakura's eyes filled with happiness and she clutched her hands over her heart.

"Yes! Yes I do!" She smiled and jumped up and down a little. She took a few calming breathes and then turned to Sasuke with a smile on her face. "OK. Ready, Sasuke?"

Sasuke sighed again and closed his eyes. Naruto just watched as he saw the two's faces get closer. With every centimeter that was lost between the nutcracker and Sugar Plum Princess, the knot -that had wormed its way into the blonde's gut- tightened. Naruto bit his lip and swallowed thickly as he saw the two pair of lips touch. A moan was released from Sakura, and Naruto turned his head away, he couldn't watch. Naruto grabbed his gut and glared at the ground. _Shit! Are you kidding me?_

After a few minutes of silence passed, Sasuke opened his eyes and glanced around him.

Sasuke pulled away from Sakura who almost fell over but caught herself and looked at Sasuke dreamily but then blinked and jumped in surprise.

"Wh-what?" She questioned as she examined him. Naruto turned back to the two and was taken aback at what he saw.

Sasuke was still a nutcracker. He hadn't changed at all.

"I-I don't understand." Sakura stuttered out, examining Sasuke from every angle. "I-it…y-you should be human!" She yelled frustrated.

Sasuke had examined himself and let out an aggravated sigh then grabbed his hair and gave it a harsh tug. He groaned and walked over towards a boulder and started punching it.

"Sasuke." Sakura called after him weakly. She looked over to Naruto who was watching Sasuke. "I-I tried." She admitted. Naruto looked over to her and she turned her face towards the ground. "I…I don't understand, my kiss should break the spell!" She yelled as she used her hands to cover her eyes as she started to tear up.

Naruto looked at the ground not knowing what to say. He looked up at Sasuke and watched as the raven started to make a crack in the giant rock. Naruto sighed then walked over towards the raven.

"Hey," Naruto called gently, reaching out a hand to grasp Sasuke's shoulder. Suddenly, a loud and irritating noise rang through the air, causing all three to cringe and cover their ears.

"Finally! Made it." Kidomaru cheered as he walked out of the forest.

"And not a moment to soon." Ukon supplied looking at the three in front of them.

"Who're they?" Naruto asked in a hushed tone. Sasuke glanced at him and moved to put himself in front of the blonde.

"Trouble." Sakura answered as she stopped next to the two boys and took a fighting stance.

"Trouble's right, you brats." Jirabo taunted.

"Hey, we don't have to fight." Ukon said as he turned around, his second head watching the three as he looked at his team. Naruto and Sakura shivered as they looked at the second head. "All we want is Sasuke."

"Hey, if we bring back that Sugar Plum Princess we'll get a reward, right?" Tayuya asked as she looked at Sakura with a smile.

"Yeah, I think so." Kidomaru answered, leering at Sakura.

"Who's that?" Jirabo questioned, pointing at Naruto. Naruto glared at him and Sasuke moved completely in front of him.

Ukon turned around and smiled. "No idea."

"Can we kill him?" Tayuya asked, smiling at Naruto. Naruto turned his glare towards her and balled his fists.

"Leave him out of this!" Sasuke demanded, grabbing his sword.

"How about this?" Ukon suggested. "Sasuke, you and Sakura come with us and we won't kill the blonde." Ukon smiled and Sasuke glanced over his shoulder at Naruto, who glared at him.

"No!" Sakura yelled. She turned towards Sasuke and pointed towards Ukon. "He said they wouldn't kill him, that doesn't mean they'll leave Naruto alone!"

"Smart girl." Ukon said as he raced towards the trio.

Sasuke's quick reactions came into play as he slashed his sword at Ukon, who jumped out of the way. Then, Tayuya came at them from the side; but, Sakura crouched then hit the girl with a powerful fist, causing Tayuya to fly backwards.

"Hold onto my lever." Sasuke commanded as he focused on Jirabo who was charging at them. Naruto nodded and grabbed onto the lever.

Jirabo charged at the two but Sasuke jumped to the side, pulling Naruto along with him. He swung at the fat man but Jirabo jumped back avoiding the hit. Meanwhile, Ukon was on top of Sakura who was wiggling around on the ground trying to unpin herself. Finally, she closed her eyes and stopped moving. Ukon smirked in victory but then he was thrown off Sakura as she planted her feet down and used her super human strength to fling her body upward. Ukon flew out of the way and Tayuya came towards the pink haired girl.

Sasuke smirked as he finally landed a blow on Jirabo, slashing him across the back.

"Good one!" Naruto cheered. Sasuke smirked then fell backwards as his body was jerked back.

Sasuke looked behind him and saw Kidomaru holding Naruto's arms with two of his owns. Sasuke gritted his teeth and jumped onto his feet.

"Let him go!" Sasuke barked.

Jirabo saw Sasuke's back turned to him; so, he charged him, picked the nutcracker up, and threw him against a boulder.

Naruto screamed as he watched Sasuke fly into the boulder. Kidomaru laughed and Naruto glared at him over his shoulder. Naruto used his legs and kicked Kidomaru in the groin. Kidomaru groaned and released the blonde as he crumbled to the floor. Naruto jumped away and then turned back to Kidomaru and kicked him. Kidomaru fell to the ground with a painful wheeze and Naruto jumped on top of him.

Naruto punched the crumbled man, until an arm shot out and grabbed the blonde's ankle –he hoisted the ankle up causing Naruto to fall back. Naruto groaned, looked up and saw a punch heading towards his face; he blocked it and then threw his own punch. Kidomaru caught it in one of his hands and then caught the next punch in another one of his hands.

Naruto struggled against the man's grip and tried to kick him with his free leg, but Kidomaru caught it with his forth arm. Naruto tried to free his limbs but Kidomaru only grinned at him.

"Got you now." He grinned as he stood up and ran towards a boulder, smashing the blonde into it. Naruto groaned as he was continuously smashed against the rock.

Naruto tried to keep his head up, but his vision was blurry and his whole body felt heavy. Kidomaru laughed as he let go of the blonde's legs and chucked the blonde towards the water. Naruto landed on the shore line and before he could even think about getting up, Kidomaru pounced on him and proceeded to punch the blonde with all of his fists.

With one blow, Naruto's head snapped towards the ground and his body went limp. Kidomaru sat up and looked at Naruto. His face was all bloody, his shirt was ripped in some places, and his head was turned to the side with blood dripping out of his mouth. Kidomaru grinned then got off the boy and then rolled him into the water.

Sakura fought against Tayuya and then kicked Ukon, as he tried to jump on her from behind. Then a fist hit her in the face and flung her onto the ground. Tayuya used this and kicked Sakura in the ribs. Then Kidomaru –who had punched her- picked her up and wrapped all four arms around her -effectively preventing her escape.

Sasuke saw Sakura captured and cursed under his breath. When he saw who was holding Sakura, his breath caught in his throat. _He was fighting the dobe. Where's Naruto?_ He thought frantically as he scanned the area.

Jirabo used the time Sasuke spaced out to grab him. He locked his arms around the nutcracker and squeezed him. Sasuke gasped then struggled, as he tried to free himself but only ended up dropping his sword.

"Shit!" He cursed, as he continued to struggle.

Ukon stood up and smiled at the captives. Then he nodded to all of his teammates.

"Hey." Tayuya said. "Where's the blonde one?"

"Oh, I took care of him." Kidomaru laughed.

"What's you do to him?" Sasuke yelled as he continued to struggle.

Kidomaru only grinned and then Tayuya starting laughing. This only angered Sasuke more; he glared at Kidomaru, trying to kill the man with his glare.

"I'll kill you!" Sakura yelled as she started kicking her feet randomly.

"Sure you will." Tayuya said as the four began to walk towards the castle.

"Naruto!" Sakura yelled as she continued to try and wiggle free.

* * *

**(1)

* * *

**Naruto flung his head out of the water and started coughing. He, blindly, tried to find something solid with his hands. Finally, he found the shore and hoisted himself on it. He laid there and took in a couple of deep breaths. After awhile, the blonde's breath evened out and he opened his sore eyes and slowly sat up.

"Ow." He winced as he moved to stand, his whole body aching and protesting as he did so.

He scanned the area and saw that nothing was there and at that moment his heart dropped to his stomach.

"Sasuke?" Naruto called hesitantly, when he didn't hear a response he starting looking around frantically, screaming the ravens name.

"Sasuke!" Naruto yelled again. When he spotted the nutcrackers sword he felt his knees trembling, but he held onto his strength and took in a deep breath.

He went over to the sword and picked it up. He looked around again and then saw the boulder Sasuke was thrown into; a paper was lying on the grass near it. Naruto ran to it, picked it up and saw it was the map.

"Ino." Naruto breathed. "I'll get Ino to help!" Naruto yelled determined.

Naruto followed the map back to the hideout and yelled out for help.

"Naruto?" Someone from one of the tree houses yelled. Naruto looked up and tried to wave but was too exhausted.

Neji swung down on a rope and ran to the blonde. He grabbed the blonde's arm and pulled it over his shoulder.

"What happened?" He asked as he pulled the blonde towards a rope ladder that was lowered for them.

Naruto didn't answer, but climbed up the ladder.

"N-naruto!" Hinata cried as she helped pull the blonde up.

"What happened to you? Are you ok?" Ten-Ten asked. She then motioned for Lee to go get the medical kit.

"Where's Sasuke?" Ino questioned looking everywhere.

Naruto gently pushed away everyone's hands and walked in front of everyone. He quickly explained how they were ambushed and held out Sasuke's sword.

"We have to get them back." Naruto said determined.

"We need a plan." Chouji added, putting his chips down.

Everyone turned to Shikamaru, who was crouched down, his finger tips toughing, and his eyes closed. Naruto's eyebrow rose at him but after glancing at everyone else's serious face he shrugged and also watched Shikamaru.

Shikamaru's eyes opened and he smiled. "Here's what we do." He announced and everyone gathered around him.

* * *

* * *

**(1)** ok since it's Christmas time I decided to give you more than what I was planning on, so Merry Christmas! :)

TADA! Sakura's the Sugar Plum Princess! I mean was there any doubt? lol XD

Alright so I am still no good at fight scenes but I hope it worked for you. Also Shikamaru's BA...that's all I gotta say.


	6. Happily Ever Cliche After

OK so this is LOOOOONG over do and I'm not that happy with the ending but I rarely am. Anyway I'm done writing stories for Naruto and forgot I didn't upload this so here's the last one from me. Maybe you'll see me all someday, now that I've started my serious writing.

Ps Ignore all the grammer and such I wrote this probably 2 years ago and I don't feel like redoing/checking it.

Anyway I hope you all enjoy.

I own this idea thats it

* * *

Sakura tried to break the shackles holding her and when that proved unsuccessful she glared at the man sitting on the throne.

Orochimaru grinned and rose from his throne. He walked towards his two captors slowly, enjoying the moment. He nodded to the sound 4 –signaling them to leave. They bowed and dismissed themselves, but not without grinning at Sasuke and Sakura.

"Sasuke." Orochimaru greeted, a smile forming on his face. "It's so nice to see you again." He raised a hand to stroke the nutcrackers cheek but Sasuke pulled his face away from the snake mans hand. Orochimaru frowned but continued. "Don't bother trying to break those." He motioned towards the shackles. "There's magic on them, you won't be able to." He then smirked as Sakura growled at him.

"Sasuke I have an ultimatum for you." He turned back towards the throne and sat on it. "Either you become mine or I kill you." Orochimaru took in the repulsed look on Sasuke's face with a smirk. "What'll it be?"

"The only one who is going to die is you." Sasuke replied with his head held high. Sakura smiled at Sasuke then threw a victorious look to Orochimaru.

Orochimaru frowned and then motioned for Kabuto to come to him. He whispered something into his assistant's ear then turned back towards the two.

"I invite you to a bonfire." He said then smiled at Sasuke. "Sasuke you must come and Sakura I would love for you to watch." He finished with a smile, he then ordered some snake guards to take them to their own cells.

* * *

Sakura struggled in her cage, shaking it back and forth. Her shackles were removed and she was thrown into a big, bird like cage, hanging in one of the prison sections. She heard a door opened and started yelling a string of curse words.

"-And you assholes slithering up the ass of that bastard can go-"

"Sakura!" Naruto whispered harshly.

Sakura stopped and blinked as she focused on the blonde haired boy. He was in the same pair of sweat pants but now had two swords tied around his waist

"N…Naruto." She gasped. She then scanned the area for guards while questioning the blonde. "How'd you get in here?" She whispered.

Naruto pulled out the needle he hid in his sweatpants and glared at it.

"I pricked myself on this like…five times." Naruto informed her as he stood in front of her cage.

Sakura gave him a deadpanned stare then shook her head and looked over him again.

"We thought you died. And how'd you get in here?" She asked again. Naruto shrugged as he started to pick the lock. "Do you really think that's going to work?" Sakura questioned as she watched him. "I mean this isn't a door, it's a lock on a prisoner! They wouldn't have a lock you can pick holding a prisoner." Suddenly, a click was heard and Sakura's door opened. She gapped at the blonde who smiled and helped her out.

"I'm a quick healer; I climbed down a rope with everyone else's help, and never doubt the power of a Californian." Naruto boasted as he guided her out of the castle and towards the wall surrounding the castle. "Now, Shikamaru is waiting on the other side. You go help them, while I go get Sasuke."

Sakura grabbed the rope and smiled at the blonde. Naruto smiled back then ran quietly back into the castle. Naruto snuck around, hid behind statues, peeked in every room, and looked behind every corner but couldn't find the nutcracker. _Where is he?_ Naruto began to panic as he found another empty room.

"Piss off!"

_Sasuke!_ Naruto cheered as the nutcrackers voice floated to him. He followed the voice till he found a door; he peeked inside and saw Orochimaru standing in front of the raven. Sasuke didn't have any shackles on and was glaring at the snake man.

"If you refuse me, you'll end up like that blonde boy." Orochimaru taunted. Sasuke glared harder at him.

Orochimaru smirked and raised his staff. Suddenly, Orochimaru was consumed in a black whirlwind. The whirlwind dissipated and Naruto almost fell onto the floor. Sasuke's eyes widened before he glared harder, gritting his teeth together and balling his fists. In front of Sasuke stood a replica of Naruto –the only difference was that instead of blue eyes the blondes eyes were yellow.

"See Sasuke," Orochimaru gestured towards himself. "I can turn into anything I want to be. I can do anything." He hissed out.

Naruto's jaw was wide open and no matter how hard he tried he couldn't close it. He blinked a few times then finally got his gapping mouth to close with a click. Orochimaru heard the click and turned his head towards the noise, his disguise disappearing.

"You!" Orochimaru yelled as he glared at Naruto.

Sasuke whipped his head towards the door and his eyes widened as he spotted Naruto.

"Dobe?"

"Shit!" Naruto cursed as Orochimaru tried to zap him with his staff.

Sasuke instantly broke out of his stupor and jumped at Orochimaru, knocking the man over. Naruto ran over to Sasuke as the nutcracker was flung off the snake man. Naruto helped Sasuke up then passed him his sword. Naruto pulled out the sword Neji gave him before climbing over the palace walls, and nodded at Sasuke. Sasuke nodded back and then they both turned towards Orochimaru who was scowling at both of them.

Both boys lunged at Orochimaru and started fighting him. Sasuke doing most the work since Naruto never handled a real sword before.

"Dobe, watch where you're swinging." Sasuke yelled as he tried to slash a jumping Orochimaru.

"Sorry teme!" Naruto shot back as he jumped out of the way. "I've never really done this before, give me a break!"

"Dobe." Sasuke smirked as he slashed at Orochimaru's arm.

Orochimaru frowned then charged at Sasuke but was tripped as Naruto slid underneath his feet.

"Kabuto!" Orochimaru yelled, but Naruto just 'tsk'ed at him.

"Kabuto's probably got his hands full." Naruto smiled.

* * *

"Take that you little bastard!" Sakura yelled as she punched Kabuto in the face. Causing the man flew across the courtyard and into a tree.

Sakura smiled then glanced behind her, watching as Neji kicked Kidomaru into Ten-ten's fist. Chouji and Lee were fighting Jirabo, Hinata and Ino were fighting Ukon, and Shikamaru was handling Tayuya. Sakura smiled at the scene.

Then a wall blew out and everyone paused to watch as Orochimaru jumped out of the hole, Naruto and Sasuke following him and swinging at him wildly. Naruto crossed swords with him and held the man there. Orochimaru smirked as he pushed against the inexperienced blonde. Naruto cringed as he felt himself being pushed.

"Dobe." Sasuke breathed and Naruto jumped back as a sword went through Orochimaru.

Sasuke pushed his sword in further, listening to the snake man gasp. Sasuke continued to push forward until his sword hilt pressed fully against Orochimaru's back.

"Bast…ard." Orochimaru gasped as blood came out of his mouth.

Sasuke released his sword and watched Orochimaru stumble forward. He then reached for his sword and pulled it out roughly, causing Orochimaru to fall to the ground. Neji, Shikamaru, Chouji, and Ino took the sound 4's surprised stupor to their advantage and killed them. Everything fell silent as everyone looked around at all the dead bodies.

"Yay!" Sakura yelled then jumped up and down. Everyone else followed her example and started whooping and celebrating.

The sound of several cracks, however, stopped everyone's merriment as they listened to the sound to stones breaking.

"It's gonna collapse!" Chouji yelled as he pointed at the castle.

"No." Neji replied, calming everyone. "That's not it."

Everything went quiet again but a long groan broke it. Out of the hole came a busty blonde and long haired man.

"Tsunade! Jiraiya!" Everyone –minus Naruto and Sasuke yelled.

Tsunade and Jiraiya looked at the dead body of Orochimaru and then let out an overjoyed sigh. Then more people started appearing. Everyone that was turned to stone broke free and joined in the giant celebration.

"Itachi." Sasuke breathed relieved.

Everyone silenced themselves and stared at the man coming out of the hole. Itachi strode out of the hole and then saw Sasuke. They both stared at each other and smiled a minuscule Uchiha smile; they then went and hugged each other. Everyone rushed to them and formed a group hug. Naruto stayed back and watched as Sasuke tried to squirm out of the hold Sakura and Ino had him in.

"Ma," A voice next to Naruto said. "It's good to see them together again."

Naruto turned to look at the man and checked him over. The man had half his face covered with a mask and an eye patch over his left eye, and his hair was silver and waved off to one side. Naruto continued to stare at him with squinted eyes, analyzing the man.

"Do I know you?" Naruto questioned while continuing to study the man.

"Hmm." The man looked at Naruto with his one eye.

For awhile they both just stared at each other, till Sasuke came.

"Dobe." Sasuke called while walking over towards Naruto. Sasuke glanced at the silver haired man and sighed. "Don't talk to him." The nutcracker gestured towards the silver haired man.

"Sasuke I'm hurt." The man said with a hand held over his heart.

"That's doubtful." Itachi stated as he strode towards the group. Itachi glanced at Naruto then looked back at the masked man. "Kakashi thank you for helping Sasuke escape."

The man named Kakashi bowed and his visible eye went in a U shape. _I guess he's smiling._ Naruto thought as he stared at the man.

"Who are you?" Naruto jumped as he stared directly at Sasuke's brother.

"O-oh! U-uh," Naruto fumbled and stuttered under the intense gaze.

"Get back here!" Sakura yelled, interrupting Naruto.

All four turned to her and saw her running back into the palace.

"What's going on?" Naruto asked out loud.

"Kabuto escaped." Lee informed him.

"He was hiding and we just saw him run into the palace. We're going after him." Neji finished as he, Lee, and Ten-ten ran into the palace as well.

"I suggest you two stay here." Kakashi said to the two royalties.

Sasuke glared at Kakashi, wanting to go kill the rat, but sighed in defeat when his brother glanced at him –signaling to him that he shouldn't move.

Naruto glanced at Sasuke and Itachi then grabbed his sword.

"I'm going to go." He said and then waved with is free hand and ran off before he could hear any protest.

"Who is that?" Itachi asked again as he watched Naruto run into the palace.

Kakashi chuckled and smiled, then turned to Sasuke.

"Naruto Uzumaki." Sasuke answered glaring at the blonde as he ran off.

* * *

"You check over there." Shikamaru advised to Naruto as he went off in another direction.

Naruto nodded, re-gripped his sword and took off down the designated path.

"Sakura get over here!" Ino yelled as she spotted the pink haired girl.

Sakura ran over to her and Ino guided her back towards the courtyard. There, she took the Sugar Plum Princess to Itachi, Sasuke, and Kakashi.

"Kiss him." Ino demanded pointing at Sasuke. "Kiss him and turn him back to normal."

Sakura glanced at Sasuke and Itachi then let out a sad sigh. Sasuke looked at Itachi who gave him a confused look and shook his head.

"My kiss didn't do anything." Sakura admitted, looking at the ground –feeling tears well up in her eyes.

"What?" Tsunade asked as she walked over to the group. "You're the Sugar Plum Princess, you're kiss should break the curse." Tsunade stood next to Sakura and put a hand on the pink haired girls shoulder.

"But it didn't work!" Sakura cried. "We kissed and…and nothing happened!" She continued as some tears escaped from her eyes. "I don't understand." She mumbled as she tightened her hands.

"Is there any other way?" Itachi asked as he glanced at Sasuke.

Tsunade looked thoughtful and tried to think of something. Minutes passed by and no one had thought of anything; finally, Jiraiya spoke.

"Isn't that how fairytales go?" Jiraiya mused with a laugh. Everyone looked at him confused and he glanced at everyone then smiled and continued. "Love conquers all. Sakura's kiss didn't work because –and this is just a theory- but…maybe the youngest Prince has fallen in love?" He suggested while waggling his eyebrows.

Everyone was silent, some confused and some trying to figure out who Sasuke might be in love with.

"Shouldn't you be finding Naruto?" Kakashi asked out loud as he pulled out an orange book from his back pocket.

Ino and Sakura turned to him confused. Sasuke raised his head and blinked owlishly at the masked man. Itachi looked at Kakashi then smirked.

"Oh!" Ino and Sakura yelled as they smiled. They nodded to each other then ran into the palace.

Itachi smirked at Sasuke's dumbfounded look, as Jiraiya and Tsunade smiled.

"I've got a question," Tsunade announced. Itachi looked at her and Kakashi glanced at her over his book. "Who's Naruto?"

* * *

"Naruto!" Sakura yelled as she ran down another hallway.

"Sakura?" Chouji called.

"Chouji!" Sakura greeted, and then stopped in front of him. "Have you seen Naruto?"

"Yeah." He answered as he stuffed another handful of food into his mouth. "Why?"

"Which way did he go? He has to kiss Sasuke so he'll turn back to normal!" She announced as she bounced on her feet anxious to find the blonde.

"What?" Chouji questioned. "I thought your kiss did that?"

"Never mind that!" Sakura snapped. "Which way did he go?"

Chouji pointed further down the hall and Sakura took off.

"Tell more people Chouji and if you see Naruto take him to Sasuke!" Sakura commanded as she ran out of sight.

Meanwhile, Kabuto –who has hiding in the shadows- heard Sakura and Chouji's conversation and cursed under his breath.

_I can't let Sasuke win! _Kabuto thought as he crawled away and then ran down another hallway, while trying to think of a plan._ I can't let Sasuke and that blonde meet. Orochimaru's work will not be forgotten. _

Kabuto hid inside a random room as Lee ran down the hall yelling Naruto's name.

_I've got to think fast._ He reprimanded himself as he tried to think of a plan.

"Lee?" Naruto called while walking down the hallway Kabuto was hidden in. "Hmm, I thought I heard him call me." Naruto mused as he scratched the top of his head.

_This is my chance!_ Kabuto thought.

Kabuto ran out of the room and Naruto immediately noticed him.

"Hey!" Naruto yelled as he watched Kabuto run back into the room he just emerged from. "Hey! Get back here!" Naruto yelled as he ran after him.

Naruto ran into the room and then cringed as he was hit in the back of the head. Naruto's body fell to the floor with a flop as he lost consciousness. Kabuto's glasses gleamed as he smirked down at the fallen boy. He then bent down and pulled the blonde further into the dark room.

"Orochimaru said that he shrunk you, so then you should have it somewhere." Kabuto thought out loud as he loomed over the unmoving blonde and examined him.

_Ugh_ Naruto mentally groaned as he tried to wake up. _Ow, my head._ His head throbbed, his mind was a hazy field, and his vision was nonexistent; though, that was because he didn't have the strength to open his eyelids.

"It's in here somewhere."

_Who's that? _Naruto mentally questioned as the haziness in Naruto's brain cleared. He could feel fingers rummaging through his hair, which only pushed him further into confusion._ What?_

"Once I get this, you'll go home and Sasuke will remain a nutcracker forever." Kabuto chuckled.

_What?_ Naruto questioned again. Naruto's mind was slowly letting Naruto have control over his body again and he flexed his fingers.

"Got it!" Kabuto cheered as he pulled a black ball of ooze out of the Naruto's hair. "Now you won't be able to kiss Sasuke and he'll stay a nutcracker forever!" Kabuto cheered again.

_Forever?_ Naruto thought as he opened his eyes and saw Kabuto standing next to him smiling as he crushed the black ball. Kabuto smiled and it infuriated Naruto. Naruto sweep kicked Kabuto, causing the man to fall to the floor.

"What're you talking about?" Naruto demanded as he stood –shakily- over Kabuto.

Kabuto looked at him and smirked.

"You could've broken the curse on Sasuke, but now." He gestured towards the blonde. "It's too late. You're going to disappear and he'll be stuck as a nutcracker forever!" He taunted, still smirking. Naruto went rigid as he balled his fists and glared.

"Huh?" Naruto gasped, instantly relaxing as he felt his body becoming lighter.

He looked down at himself and was shocked to see himself disappearing. His body was slowly losing color and fading away. Naruto's mouth opened and closed a couple times but Kabuto's laughter broke him out of his stupor. Naruto glared at him then turned on his heels and ran out of the room.

"Has anyone found him?" Tsunade questioned as she bounced from one foot to another, trying to resist the urge to pace (or go look for her hidden sake).

Jiraiya shook his head, biting back the smart ass remark that was itching to be released. Itachi taped his foot and kept his gaze locked on the hole in the wall. Kakashi continued to read his book, while Sasuke was glaring at the ground.

_I do __not__ like the dobe! _Sasuke thought as he tried desperately to reason with himself. _I've known him for two days! I have no feelings for him. Yes, he is attractive. And yes, he does have a nice smile. _Sasuke admitted. He looked up at the hole and studied it for awhile. The nutcracker then sighed and looked down, defeated. _Alright, some feelings, I may have some feelings for him._ Sasuke admitted as he nodded to himself.

"Sasuke!"

Itachi took a step forward then back, his eyebrows rising in confusion. Kakashi looked up from his book then lowered it completely and gaped. Tsunade and Jiraiya turned towards the voice and a baffled look colored their faces.

"What the hell?" Jiraiya yelled, observing the scene before him.

Sakura, Ino, and Shikamaru were running behind Naruto with wide, confused eyes. Naruto was almost transparent his face being the only almost translucent thing. His eyes were set in determination as he ran past a gaping Tsunade and Jiraiya.

"Naruto?" Sasuke gasped.

Once, he got a better look at the almost transparent boy he glared in anger and ran forward. He opened his mouth to question the disappearing boy but was pushed back slightly, as Naruto jumped on him.

Naruto lunged at Sasuke as he felt himself disappearing more. Sasuke almost fell over from shock but caught himself.

"Naruto, what?" Sasuke began angrily as he tried to get his bearings.

"No time!" Naruto yelled.

Naruto grabbed both Sasuke's cheeks and quickly looked away from his disappearing hands. Sasuke opened his mouth to yell again but Naruto rammed his lips forward straight into wooden ones. Blue eyes -that were still set in determination- gazed at confused, onyx eyes. Slowly, the wooden lips became softer and the determination and confusion left both eyes as they slipped closed. Sasuke became less rigid as his eyes closed and then he pushed his head, forcing Naruto to tilt his. He pushed more into the kiss and Naruto responded pushing back but ended up not being able to.

Sasuke opened his eyes immediately as he felt the lips disappear. Naruto's eyes were the only thing left in his vision.

"Naruto!" Sasuke yelled as he lunged forward, trying to grab at the blonde, but met nothing but air.

* * *

Naruto shot out of bed, gasping.

"Huh? What?" Naruto gripped his bed sheets and his eyes dashed all around the room. "M-my room?"

He took a few deep breaths then scanned the room again. The room had orange walls and posters decorating them. A desk with a closed laptop on it was in the corner next to his dresser that had clothes falling out of it. Then there was a TV on top of the dresser with an Xbox360 connected to it and a videogame chair in front of it.

Naruto then grabbed his body and sighed happily when he felt his solid body. He then looked over and instantly threw the covers off himself and examined his sweat pants. They were fine, no holes, water marks, or sweat marks.

Naruto sighed then raked a hand through his hair. Then he gasped again and jumped out of bed. He ran down the stairs and flew into the living room.

"Naruto?" Iruka called, as he stopped putting presents under the tree so he could look up at his son, who was almost out of breath scanning the room.

"Naruto?" Iruka called again with concern. He put the present he was holding down and walked towards Naruto. "Are you ok?" He asked putting a hand on the boy's forehead.

Naruto blinked and looked at Iruka, then shook the hand off.

"N-no I'm fine." Naruto answered as he stepped around Iruka and examined the room.

The lamp was still on the table and in one piece, the coasters were in the same place, and the floor and table were clean. There were no signs of the fight or of him shrinking.

He raked his hand through his hair again and took in a deep breath. He tried to keep his head straight and his mind clear so he could evaluate what was happening.

"Naruto?" Iruka questioned again. He gave the blonde a concerned look and walked over to him. He then gently pushed Naruto towards the couch and sat him down.

"Naruto, are you alright? Did something happen?" He questioned calmly.

Naruto glanced at him then continued to look around the room. Searching for a sign of what happened last night.

"Iruka?" Naruto finally ripped his eyes away from the living room and looked at his dad. "This morning, was the lamp broken? Or did you see any dead snakes lying around?"

Iruka looked at Naruto confused and shook his head 'no' slowly. He then grabbed Naruto's hand and squeezed it.

"Naruto, did something happen?"

Naruto sighed then looked down to the floor and sighed again. Naruto's head was starting to feel fuzzy, he couldn't tell if what happened was real or if he dreamt all of it.

"But I got hurt and felt it." Naruto thought out loud.

Iruka's eyes widened when he heard this and he squeezed Naruto's hand again, bringing Naruto's gaze over to him.

"Naruto, tell me what happened." He demanded in a stern voice.

Naruto sighed then bit his bottom lip and told Iruka everything; from walking down the stairs, to the fight at the beach, and finally to the kiss.

"Naruto." Iruka began but Naruto interrupted him.

"I don't understand!" Naruto yelled frustrated. "Everything felt so real. I felt the punches I got. And everyone I met I liked, they were so nice and," Naruto sighed and looked at Iruka confused. "I just don't get it. What happened?"

Iruka smiled a sad smile then wrapped his arm around Naruto who huddled into him.

"Naruto, sometimes we have these dreams, and they seem so real that we fool ourselves into thinking that they are real." Iruka explained in a clam voice as he rubbed Naruto's arm soothingly.

"But I felt-"

"This dream may have been a night terror." Iruka further explained. Naruto broke out of his hold and looked at him confused.

"Night terror? What's that?"

"Well," Iruka began. "You see Naruto, most dreams occur during a cycle in your sleep called REM. But sometimes you have dreams that aren't during REM, those are called night terrors. See, during REM you're body is immobilized, that way you can't act out your dreams; but during night terrors you're body is not immobilized so you can act them out."

Naruto raked a hand through his hair and sighed trying to absorb all the new information. Iruka saw this and grabbed Naruto's hand again.

"You probably beat yourself up." Iruka laughed making Naruto laugh a bit as well.

Naruto smiled up at Iruka and laughed again. Then he glanced at the room again and sighed sadly. Iruka noticed this and gave Naruto another concerned look.

"It was a great dream." Naruto whispered as he smiled a bittersweet smile. He pictured everyone he met in his dream and smiled again; then his smiled disappeared as he thought of Sasuke.

"Naruto." Iruka said, breaking Naruto out of his thoughts. Naruto looked at him with a slight smile and Iruka smiled. "Dreams are nice, but you can't live in them." Naruto's smile dropped, and Iruka continued. "Promise me you won't dwell on this?"

Naruto sighed sadly as he thought of everything he went through and everyone he met. He closed his eyes, took in a deep breath and shook his head –banishing everything from his thoughts. _It was just a dream_

He opened his eyes and let out one more depressed sigh. Then he looked up at Iruka and smiled.

"I promise." Naruto said with a smile.

Iruka smiled back then slapped his knees.

"Well, now that you're up. Let's open presents!" Iruka announced.

Naruto's smile blew up as he jumped off the couch and then dove under the tree. Iruka laughed as he ran to get his camera.

"Naruto, don't go so fast!" Iruka yelled as he tried to take a snap shot.

Naruto stuck his tongue out at his dad and continued to rip apart his gifts. Iruka laughed and continued to snap pictures of the over energized blonde. After presents, Iruka made lunch and then they both went outside to go extended holiday greetings to their neighbors. After dinner, they both went into the living room and began cleaning up.

"Hey." Naruto called as he came back into the living room after taking out the trash. "Have you seen my nutcracker?" Iruka looked around the room then shook his head 'no'.

"You might've thrown it out last night." Iruka said then laughed. "Or this morning, you ripped through those presents so fast." Iruka sighed tiredly. "I don't even know why I wrap them anymore."

"You have to wrap them!" Naruto defended as he sat next to Iruka. "I love the surprise of not knowing what I got till it's opened."

"Even at 18 you still love that?" Iruka questioned as he chuckled.

"You're never too old for presents." Naruto defended with a nod.

Iruka smiled and nodded as well. Then Naruto yawned and waved to Iruka as he stood up.

"Alright I'm going to bed." Naruto smiled. "Night, Iruka." He waved then went up to his room and went off to bed.

* * *

"I said I don't want to hear it!" Iruka yelled as he viciously slammed the phone back on its receiver.

Iruka huffed as he gave the phone a death glare. Naruto and Kiba stopped moving and just stared at the pissed adult. Naruto slowly put his slice of pizza down and turned so that he was facing Iruka. Kiba watched his friend with weary eyes as he struggled not to move, his pizza slice still clenched between his teeth. Naruto cleared his throat and Iruka turned and glared at him.

"Iruka." Naruto started in a very cautious tone. "Wh…what's wrong?"

Iruka hunched his shoulders and sighed then threw his hands in the air and huffed again.

"I'm sorry." Iruka gritted out. He sighed again and waved his hand in the air. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't be taking this out on you two."

Kiba instantly relaxed and gobbled up his pizza slice. Naruto, however, raised his eyebrow at Iruka.

"What's wrong?" Naruto questioned as he grabbed his pizza slice and glared at Kiba who grabbed the last remaining slice.

Iruka heaved a heavy sigh and plopped himself in one of the other available chairs. He placed his head in his hands and gritted his teeth.

"I…" Iruka hesitated, not knowing if he should be talking about this with his son and friend.

"You?" Naruto questioned as he finished his slice.

Iruka sighed again and hid his face more, trying to fight his blush of embarrassment that was slowly coloring his face.

"My ex-boyfriend keeps calling me. Giving me lame excuses as to why he just dropped off the face of the Earth all those years ago." Iruka rushed out, still hiding his head, not daring to look at the two teens.

"What?" Kiba asked, confused.

Iruka sighed again and tried to put on a brave face and faced the two teens.

"I dated a guy a long time ago," Iruka blinked then pointed to Naruto. "You met him, I think. It was right when I first adopted you." Naruto glanced at Kiba then looked back at Iruka.

"I don't remember." Naruto mumbled out. Iruka waved his hand, dismissing Naruto's comment with a small smile.

"You were young and still in mourning, it's expected for you to not remember."

"Anyway?" Kiba interrupted, trying to get more of the story.

Iruka cleared his throat and began again. "Yes, well shortly after one of our dates I waited for him to call and he didn't. I looked for him but he disappeared. He just fell off the face of the Earth!" Iruka half yelled as he glared at the table top.

"He just left?" Naruto asked getting angry at this man for abandoning his dad. Iruka nodded his head and Kiba shook his back and forth in a disappointed fashion.

"Now, he calls me giving me some bull shit excuse!" Iruka fisted his hands and glared at the table top harder. "It's just like him to act like everything is fine if he just makes up an excuse!"

"What'd he say?" Naruto asked as he glanced at the phone and glared at it.

Iruka sighed again and took one hand and ran it down his face.

"That he was helping his family friend's country and was held prisoner there for all these years." Iruka scoffed as did Naruto and Kiba.

"Yeah Sure." Naruto spat out sarcastically.

"Sounds like an asshole." Kiba commented closing his eyes and nodding his head. Naruto looked at him and also nodded his head.

"Just forget him Iruka." Naruto said.

Iruka sighed and smiled at the two boys then stood and ruffled both of their hair. He grabbed the empty pizza box and moved to throw it out.

"I've been trying since he first left." Iruka's smile dropped and he sighed. Kiba and Naruto glanced at each other then gave Iruka a sympathetic look.

"You will." Kiba offered weakly as he tried to give Iruka a reassuring smile.

Iruka smiled gently at the gesture. "Thank you. But," He sighed again as he walked out of the room. "You don't know how hard it is to forget your first love."

Both boys heard Iruka's comment and Kiba hung his head in sadness and sympathy. Naruto -on the other hand- had a picture of a faceless raven haired man with his hair swished up in the back, pop into his head.

* * *

"Why did Jiraiya say we all had to come?"

"It's so cramped in here!"

"Are we there yet?"

"Ack! Who touched me?"

"Oh, me definitely!"

The girl with red hair and glasses slammed her fist into the short, silver haired boys face. Hoping that one of his overly sharp teeth would break.

"Suigetsu!" Ino screeched as he knocked into her, causing her to knock into Chouji. Chouji then fell onto Shikamaru, who fell on Ten-Ten, who fell on Neji, who then fell on Lee, who fell on Sasuke, who fell onto the window he was gazing out of.

"Don't yell at Suigetsu, it's was Karin's fault!" Sakura defended from her spot next to Juugo.

"I-it's tr-true." Hinata supplied, she sat on the other side of Sakura, closest to the car door.

Juugo regarded everyone silently then glance at Sakura who nodded at him with a smile on her lips. Karin, who was on the other side of Juugo, glared at Sakura and Hinata.

"How dare you!" She yelled as she pointed a finger at Sakura. "It was his fault for touching me!" Kakashi, who was watching all of them, chuckled under his breath from his seat in the front.

All of them were in a limo and it was very cramped -since there were so many people. The original crew and Sasuke's personal bodyguards -that had been turned to stone- were all ordered to go with Kakashi on his mystery trip.

"This better be important." Ino grumbled as she tried to get comfortable.

Shikamaru sighed as he flew his head back and stared at the clouds through the sun roof. Sasuke sighed and looked back out his window.

_Why am I trapped here with all these idiots?_ Sasuke thought as he glanced at everyone.

Lee was glaring at Karin and trying to defend Sakura from across the car. Hinata was cowering, trying to distance herself from the bickering. Ten-Ten was twirling Neji's hair with her fingers as he smiled gently down at her. Sasuke sighed and turned his head away from them.

"Lonely?" Kakashi asked as he glanced back at Sasuke.

Sasuke grunted and continued to look out the window. Kakashi's eyes gleamed as he looked back at the road.

"It's normal for you to be feeling that." He continued. Sasuke growled under his breath as he tried to ignore the silver haired man as he babbled on and on. "And I can't imagine the sexual frustration you must be going through."

"Why am I here?" Sasuke snapped as he glared an Uchiha death glare at the man.

Kakashi smiled under his mask and shrugged his shoulders.

"Since it's your fault for me leaving, I'm bringing you to help my lover understand why I disappeared."

"Then why are we here?" Suigetsu yelled as he took a long slurp of his slurpee.

Everyone stopped talking and looked towards the driver who merely shrugged again.

"I thought you'd all want to come."

All the girls –minus Hinata- gritted their teeth and Sakura cracked her knuckles.

"There better be more to it than that." Sakura warned.

Kakashi chuckled nervously as he glanced in his rear view mirror at all the glares and angry faces. He then cleared his throat and smiled again.

"I thought you'd all appreciate coming to a place where it never snows."

"That does sound marvelous." Ino admitted. "But, that's not enough to make me want to squish myself in a car with all these people."

Kakashi shrugged again. "Well, I've always loved California." Kakashi sighed happily as he thought of the sun, beaches, bathing suits, and people wearing bathing suits.

Sasuke dropped his glare and stared in front of him not focusing on anything. The only thing running through his mind was the word _California._

_"Teme! I live in sunny California, where it doesn't snow!"_ Sasuke's eyes drifted back towards the window, his hearing tuning out everyone around him. _"Take me back! I have to go to Iruka!"_ Sasuke whipped his head towards Kakashi so fast that everyone stared at him, wondering if his neck was ok.

"What's his name?" Sasuke demanded.

"Who?" Kakashi asked innocently, not even glancing at the pissed off Prince.

"You know who I'm talking about!" Sasuke continued as he glared at the driver. He leaned forward and tried to restrain his hands, which itched to punch Kakashi.

"Ma, could you be talking about my lover?" Kakashi asked playing dumb. Sasuke gritted his teeth and gripped the leather of the chair tightly as he continued glaring. Kakashi, feeling the fire burning from Sasuke, sighed and shook his head. "It's Iruka. Happy? Now the surprise is ruined." He mumbled disappointed.

"Iruka?" Ten-Ten echoed.

Sakura gave Sasuke a puzzled look but he didn't look at her. He was glaring out the window, determination and anxiety etched onto his features.

Sasuke resisted the urge to bite his lip as he thought of the dobe. Sasuke took a deep breath and released it slowly, trying to calm his nerves.

"Oh my God!" Sakura yelled.

_"Never doubt the power of a Californian."_ Sakura recalled Naruto's words in her head and screamed in excitement.

"What's going on?" Suigetsu asked as he drank the last of his slurpee.

"Naruto!" Sakura yelled. "We're going to see Naruto!"

"He's alive?" Ino yelled shocked.

"What?" Hinata gasped.

Everyone had assumed that when Naruto disappeared he had died. They tracked Kabuto down, questioned him, but he didn't give any information. Sasuke was the one to slice the rat in half, ending his life.

"No way!"

"We must hurry to see him!" Lee exclaimed as he stuck his thumb up in the air and smiled a huge smile.

* * *

"Hello Iruka!" Sai smiled his fake smile as Iruka opened the door for him.

"Hello Sai." Iruka greeted, he gestured down the hallway. "Everyone's in the family room down the hall."

Sai nodded his head to Iruka then continued down the hallway, passing the living room and kitchen. He headed inside a large room that was across from one of the bathrooms. The room had a tall ceiling and a fan hanging from it. In the center of the room was a big screen TV and a stereo system surrounding it. A couch was planted in front of the TV, the loveseat sofa was at an angle to the TV, and a chair with a matching ottoman was on the other side of the couch.

On the loveseat laid a girl with blonde hair all tied up into four different ponytails. On the couch sat a brown haired man with warrior paint on his face, Naruto sat next to him, and on the other side of Naruto sat Kiba. The chair was occupied by a short, red head that concentrated all his attention on the TV.

"Oh. Great. Creepy man is here." The man with warrior paint on his face announced.

The red head glared at the brunette then turned back to the TV.

"Sai!" Naruto cheered "Come on in." Naruto waved his hand over and stopped when the red head glared at him. "Kankuro, move over and Temari make some room." Naruto whispered to them. The red head continued to glare at him but Naruto just rolled his eyes. "Calm down Gaara, it's on a commercial."

Temari sighed and sat up as Kankuro moved to sit next to her. Sai then claimed the seat next to Naruto and smiled at him.

"What're we watching?" Sai asked as he fake smiled at everyone.

"Some show," Kiba mumbled, then glanced at Gaara. "Don't try to change the channel, Gaara will murder you."

"Gaara's obsessed with this show." Temari supplied as she shook her blonde hair and tightened one of her ponytails.

Kankuro nodded in agreement as he settled himself next to his sister.

Immediately, everyone silenced themselves as the show started again. Gaara glared at the TV, giving it his undivided attention. Once the commercial break started Naruto let out a sneeze he was holding throughout the whole show. In the distance, a bell was heard along with Iruka announcing that he'll get it.

"Dickless, did you actually hold that in?" Sai asked as he smiled at Naruto.

Naruto bristled at Sai's insult and Kiba snorted a laugh.

"I have a dick, bastard!" Naruto yelled at him.

"Not this again." Kankuro sighed as he pulled up his hood.

"No you don't, only males have dicks." Sai continued to tease.

"I am a male!" Naruto yelled again, getting angrier.

"How can you be a male when you have no penis?"

Temari and Kiba started laughing and Kankuro sighed. Gaara glared at them then looked back at the TV.

"I do have a penis! And I can prove it!" Naruto stood up and reached for his fly but Temari yelled, stopping him.

"Don't you dare pull out your dick Naruto!" Temari yelled as she stood up and pointed at the blonde.

"But-" Naruto tried to defend himself.

"Dude, no one wants to see that." Kiba added as he moved away from Naruto.

"Why? It's not like you'll see anything?" Sai continued to tease.

Naruto glared at him and reached for his fly again but Temari grabbed his hand and yanked it up.

"Don't even think about it." She gritted out.

Kankuro sighed then noticed Gaara glaring death at all of them. He gulped then pushed himself further into the sofa.

"I have to!" Naruto yelled.

"No you don't!" Kiba yelled.

"I can't hear the TV." Gaara stated in his monotone voice as he glared at them, but no one listened to him. Gaara glared harder at them then grabbed the remote and turned the volume up.

"Just let it go!" Temari yelled.

"I can't." Naruto shot back.

Gaara glared at them and turned the volume up more.

"I can't hear the TV." He repeated as he formed a fist.

"Just admit that you have no penis, dickless."

"I do have a dick! You asshole!" Naruto yelled over the increasing volume of the TV.

"What's going on here?" Iruka yelled as he ran into the doorway.

Gaara's knuckles turned white as everyone started shouting explanations.

"I can't hear the TV." He repeated for the third time.

"One at a time!" Iruka yelled but no one heard him. He huffed as his face started to turn red from frustration. "That's it!" He yelled.

Iruka ran to the TV and unplugged it, shutting everyone up instantly. Temari, Kankuro, Kiba, Sai, and Naruto all turned to Gaara and slowly tried to shimmy away from the red head. Gaara was glaring at the TV; his nostrils were flaring a bit, and his eyes wider than usual as he tried to control his anger. No one uttered a syllable as they waited for the red head to calm down.

"Iruka where'd you go?" Kakashi asked loudly as he walked over towards the doorway.

Everyone gave Kakashi a deer in the head lights looks as Gaara shot up. A pissed off Gaara was a violent one. In a flash, Gaara was aiming a punch at Kakashi.

"Naruto! My youthful-"

Lee ran into the room and right in front of Gaara. Gaara's fist -that was meant for Kakashi- slammed into Lee. Lee flew back and Kakashi -quickly- caught him.

"Lee!"

Suddenly, Sakura and everyone rushed to the dazed Lee.

"Oh, shit!" Naruto gasped as he grabbed Gaara's arm and pulled him away from the scene.

"We're going to get sued." Kankuro sighed as he shook his head at the scene.

Kakashi propped Lee up and patted his shoulder. Lee grabbed his gut and kept his feet firmly placed on the floor. Sakura cupped his face and checked his vision. Then she turned towards Gaara and glared at him.

"Why would you do that?" She took a step towards the redhead and pointed an accusing finger at him. "He hasn't done anything to you!"

Gaara was staring at the floor next to Naruto, trying to ignore the girl. Naruto gripped his shoulder but Gaara still felt guilty.

"Hey don't yell at him." Kiba defended, weakly. Kiba stood in front of Sakura and began to explain what happened. "It's not Gaara's fault." He glanced behind Sakura at all the people slowly flooding into the room. "If that stupid guy hadn't co...come in and…" Kiba trailed off as his eyes settled on a raven, long haired girl standing next to Lee and looking over him worriedly.

Kiba's mouth hung open as he continued to stare at Hinata. Sakura raised an eyebrow at him then glanced back at Hinata. Sakura's gaze flicked between Kiba and Hinata before she smiled.

"Who are you guys?" Temari questioned her hands on her hips as she looked over the group.

"Oh!" Iruka exclaimed as he made his way between the two groups. "Naruto, Kiba, Sai, Gaara, Temari, Kankuro, this is my ex-boyfriend." Iruka pointed at Naruto and his friends for introductions as they each raised their hands-minus Gaara, who was still gazing at the floor.

Naruto glared at the masked man who smiled at him. Kakashi then made his way through his group and wrapped Iruka in a hug.

"Iruka, I'm not an ex." Kakashi whined as he hugged the blushing man tighter.

Naruto's head snapped back and he glared harder at the masked man.

"You're the one Iruka told me about?" Naruto yelled. Kakashi smiled and clung to Iruka more.

"You were talking about me?"

"N-not like that." Iruka stated trying to sound stern.

Kakashi just smiled more and nuzzled Iruka, who was trying to push the man's face away from his own. Naruto did not like that. Naruto stomped over towards them and began yelling at Kakashi to let go as he tried to pry Iruka out of his grasp.

"Sorry." Gaara stated in a monotone voice.

Lee and the gang looked over to him and Gaara merely glanced at Lee then folded his arms and took in a deep breath. Gaara didn't say anymore, nor did he look at Lee or anyone. Lee smiled at him and gave him thumbs up.

"It is ok; no mere punch could take me out!" Lee boasted as he gave Gaara a sparkling smile.

Gaara glanced over at him again and smiled a small -minuscule- smile (that lasted about .02 miliseconds).

"Wow!" Kankuro exclaimed, it was rare to see Gaara smile ever, he was stunned. He took his hood down and stared at Gaara then at Lee. "So, who are you?" He asked the group.

"Oh yes, introductions!" Kakashi said as he pushed Naruto off of him. He gestured towards to group with a wave. "All of you introduce yourselves." He commanded.

Ino smiled at Naruto and ran to him. She attached herself to him and squeezed his torso.

"Oh, Naruto, I'm so glad you're alive!" She exclaimed as she hugged him tighter.

"Yeah!" Ten-Ten agreed.

"M-me too!" Hinata said as she raised her hand.

Kiba glared at Naruto as Iruka and everyone else raised their eyebrows at him.

"What're they talking about dickless?" Sai asked while casting the other group a fake smile.

Naruto glared at him then tried to weasel out of Ino's hold.

"I have no idea!" Naruto replied looking at his friends over his shoulder.

"No idea?" Ino yelled offended as she jumped away from Naruto.

"What do you mean you have 'no idea'?" Neji asked as he took a step forward.

Naruto scratched the back of his head and gave them all a sheepish smile.

"Sorry…?" He offered. "But I don't think I've ever met you." He laughed a bit and tried to offer them another smile.

Everyone took on a dejected look and Sakura sighed sadly as she shook her head.

"Dobe." Someone scoffed.

Naruto dropped his smile and glared at the crowd, searching for the person who insulted him. Finally, his eyes landed on a man standing off to the side. He had pale skin and raven hair that was turned up in the back. Naruto looked him over and then focused on his hair.

Naruto screamed and took a few steps back then tripped over Sai, causing him to fall to the floor. His eyes were as wide as dinner plates as he tried to scoot back more. His chest was heaving up and down and his head felt dizzy and foggy. All Naruto could focus on,-see- was the raven haired guys head.

Naruto vaguely heard people try to talk to him, but his hearing started to fade. All of Naruto's senses started to fail on him. The raven haired guys face slowly melted away and all he saw was a faceless raven haired boy with his hair swished up in the back. Slowly, even that started to fade. Naruto tried to reach a hand up to grab the fading picture but his hand wouldn't move, and he slowly fell into blackness.

"Would you stop pacing you drama queen." Temari barked from her chair.

"I'm not pacing." Shikamaru shot back as he glared at her.

"Might as well be, you're tapping your foot like crazy and it's driving me nuts." Temari retorted.

Shikamaru glared at her and sighed. "Troublesome."

"You're such a drama queen." Temari replied as she crossed her legs.

Shikamaru scoffed at her and she just smiled at him.

"Damn I'm thirsty!" Suigetsu announced as he draped himself over his chair.

"Stop complaining!" Karin yelled at him from her chair next to him.

"I hope he's ok." Sakura admitted nervously.

Juugo –who was sitting next to her- glanced at her then put a hand on her shoulder. Sakura looked up at him and smiled. She grabbed his hand and squeezed it causing Juugo to smile.

Kakashi sighed at them and then looked over towards Iruka.

"What's wrong? Worried?" Kakashi asked.

Iruka shook his head and sighed. Naruto had gone unconscious and they had all taken him to the hospital. The doctors said they'd run some tests on him to see if anything was wrong, so everyone picked a chair and waited.

"No, just confused." Iruka answered. "I don't understand what Naruto was so freaked out about."

Sasuke, who was sitting across from Iruka -facing the door- sighed and placed his head on his palm. _Damn dobe. Not remembering anything._ Sasuke thought.

"Dobe." Sasuke whispered out as he thought of the blonde.

"Naruto's going to be fine." The doctor said as he walked into the room. Everyone stood and looked at him, giving him all their attention.

"What happened?" Iruka asked.

"He hyperventilated and slowly passed out. He'll be fine; he just needs to cool things down." The doctor explained then Iruka thanked him and he left.

Naruto blinked his eyes open and glanced at the plain white room.

"Where?" Naruto sat up and looked around the room again. He noted all the fancy equipment and red curtains and sighed. "The hospital. Awesome." He sighed then flopped back on his bed.

Naruto closed his eyes and recalled everything that had happened. The one thing he put all his focus on was the faceless raven haired man with his hair swished up in the back. He knew who that was; even though he promised Iruka he'd forget he couldn't, not all of it. He would dream about them meeting again, he didn't remember why it would be a big deal but he knew he wanted to see him. He never had a face for the raven, but now the eyes and lips came back -the nose was still a mystery- but Naruto knew who this once faceless person was.

_It was a dream. It wasn't real. _Naruto thought as he tried to reason with himself. _He was a dream, he __is__ a dream! _Naruto opened his eyes, and broke away from his thinking when he heard the door open and sat up to greet his visitors.

"Naruto," Iruka greeted as he sat next to the blonde. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah." Naruto answered as he scratched behind his head. "I guess I look really stupid now don't I?"

"No!" Iruka exclaimed. "Naruto, you hyperventilated it's not your fault."

"I'm lame." Naruto laughed out as he scratched his head.

"More like a dobe."

Naruto flung his head towards the owner of the voice and stared at him. _It was a dream!_

"Naruto this is-"

"Sasuke." _But it was a dream._ He finished in his head.

Sasuke's eyes widened before he smirked.

"Naruto." He greeted with a smirk. _You were a nutcracker._

"I'm insane." Naruto admitted while barking out a laugh. Sasuke's smirk lessened as he and Iruka gave Naruto a confused look.

"Naruto, what's wrong?" Iruka grabbed Naruto's hand but Naruto pulled away and grabbed the front of Sasuke's shirt.

Naruto yanked the raven down to his level, examined his lips, eyes, and noted the nose; then he glared at him.

"You've got a lot of explaining to do nutcracker."

"I don't think a dobe like you could handle it." Sasuke smirked back.

Naruto glared at him and pulled him forward more so that their lips met.

* * *

No big how it happened explanation b.c we never got that from the original so let it be labeled as magic or some shit.

Pairings in this:

sasunarusasu

Kakairu

kibahina

shikatem

suikaren

gaaleegaa

sakura/juugo (i think they'd be cute)

nejitenten

chouuji/ino

I think that's all of them.

Anyway Hoped you enjoyed it!


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